I stopped into the LBS today with my little one to check out the Hotrock 12. I went back and forth in my head for a good bit about it while she tooled around on it in the store. In the end, I think the "keep it small" guys are on to something. While she can 'fit' on a 16", I think she'll have worlds more control on the 12". When she's ready for something bigger, we can move up either to her sister's 16" Hotrock, or something else depending which way she goes. If she really gets into it, I'll give Spawn a call.

I decided to go with the blue one since I have the up-and-coming baby brother too. I talked her into it by tossing in some purple pedals and grips into the deal. LBS was nice enough to throw an order in for the purple grips at no cost. I'll find some purple pedals somewhere. Maybe a couple other small things like valve stem caps, butterfly stickers, and a chain or something.

She is doing great on it already, rode to the end of the street with my hand on her back. It's going to be funny when she's riding on her own before her 5-year-old sister.

Oh, saw a Hotwalk in there too, so much better than the Strider. Still need something with a brake though for my hill.

Thanks for all the advice! If I didn't have a little brother to pass it on to, I would have gone a different route, but this will be a good bike for the interim.

Great bike. She will outgrow the coaster brake at some point. Then you should think about a more aggressive gear ratio. The less aggressive one is better to start, but once they can balance well, the more difficult to accelerate but higher top speed will be better for her. You will be back on posting about how you are upgrading it. :-)

My next bit of advice would be to drop that seat as low as it will go, never raise it, and tell her to always stand up to ride. She will be a better rider for it. More control, better balance, and better foundation for technical riding.

My boy was riding on his 3rd birthday the day he got his first pedal bike. His sister was jealous that he could ride, and she taught herself on a Hotrock 16 with the cranks removed as a balance bike about 3 weeks later at age 5. Your older will get a lot of motivation from her younger sister.

I'll have to give it a try standing up to pedal. As an adult it's easy to stand up and pedal. How hard is it for a kid who is just learning? The thing that BLOWS about a coaster brake and learning to pedal is when they mess up, they're skidding and pretty much falling down.

If it didn't cost $100 to add v-brakes, I would. ($70 shipped for brackets, ~$17 brake kit, $10 for bosses).

Funny how ilmfat was talking about how much money the 'bling' on his bike cost. I figured I'd grab a couple purple things to make it less "boy" for her, maybe a couple small things.

Seat post clamp - $9-20
Axle nuts - $12/pair ($24)

Ahhh yeah, so maybe I'll re-think that. I can see how quickly it would have added up on his bikes.

I think you're right -- older one will get some motivation for sure. So when she gets decent on this bike, is she allowed to track it? Or will I need to work her into something bigger?

I stopped into the LBS today with my little one to check out the Hotrock 12. I went back and forth in my head for a good bit about it while she tooled around on it in the store. In the end, I think the "keep it small" guys are on to something. While she can 'fit' on a 16", I think she'll have worlds more control on the 12".

The Spawn 14" bike actually has a lower seat than most 12" bikes (not 100% sure on the hotrock), bigger wheels, and is definitely more stable than a lot of 12" bikes... Plus no coaster.

So when she gets decent on this bike, is she allowed to track it? Or will I need to work her into something bigger?

You'll probably be able to track it with a couple 'mods' - ditch the reflectors and chainguide I believe; track can let you know specifics. That thing's fine to get her feet wet. I got a feeling anybody nicknamed "Honey Badger" at 3 might take to the racing thing tho...future champ?

You'll probably be able to track it with a couple 'mods' - ditch the reflectors and chainguide I believe; track can let you know specifics. That thing's fine to get her feet wet. I got a feeling anybody nicknamed "Honey Badger" at 3 might take to the racing thing tho...future champ?